Indicator.



A. N. KULUDJIAN.

lNDlCATOR.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 14, 1915.

l 1 88,793. Patented June 27, 1916.

AVEDIS N. KULUDJIAN, OF IDAHO SPRINGS, COLORADO.

INDICATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 27, 1916.

Application filed J1me 14, 1915. Serial No. 34,054.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Avnors N. KULUDJIAN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Idaho Springs, in the countyof Clear Creek and State of Colorado, have invented new and usefulImprovements in Indicators, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention pertains to indicators and specificallyfloat-actuated indicators.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide afloat-actuatedindicator designed especially for use in connection withhorizontally-disposed gasolene tanks such as are carried on motorvehicles, and constructed with a view to accurately indicate thecontents of the tank in gallons and fractions of gallons'notwithstandingthe circular form of the tank in cross-section.

Another object of the invention is the provision of improvedelectro-mechanical means in the indicator for sounding an alarm when thesupply of gasolene is dangerously low; the said means being soconstructed and arranged that the electric circuit can be readily brokenby the operator after he is put on notice by the sounding of the alarm.

Other advantageous features of the invention will be fully understoodfrom the following description and claim when the same are read inconnection with the drawings,

accompanying and forming part of .this specification, in which:

Figure 1 is a view looking from the rear and illustrating myimprovements in elevation, and the electrical-circuit, the source ofelectric energy and the alarm device diagrammatically. Fig. 2 is avertical section, taken at a right angle to Fig. 1 and on the line 22 insaid figure, and showing some of the parts in elevation. Fig. 3 is adetail section taken in the plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2,looking in the direction of the arrow and showing the means for makingand breaking the electric-circuit.

' Similar .numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all ofthe views of the drawings.

The gasolene tank 1 is of the type that is ordinarily of circular formin vertical cross-section or is otherwise diminished in width from itshorizontal median line upwardly and downwardly, and is usually placedtransversely of the vehicle in rear of the seat thereof.

The casing 2 of the indicator is designed to be supported at the rearside of the dash board of the vehicle and is provided with an approprately marked dial 3, glass 4, arbor 5 equipped with a hand 6, an arm 7and a spur gear 8, and an arbor arranged in spaced relation to the arbor5 and equipped with a pinion, 9, and a drum 10; the pinion 9 beingintermeshed with the spur gear 8, and the drum being circumferentiallygrooved or channeled as clearly shown in Fig. 2 for an important purposehereinafter set forth. Surrounding the arbor that bears the pinion 9 anddrum 10 is a spring 11 one end of which is connected to said arbor andthe other end to a projection 12 carried by the casing wall. The saidspring serves as a counterbalance to the float hereinafter described andalso serves to take up the slack in the float cable so that said cablewill be taut at all times and will consequently contribute to theaccuracy of the device.

Leading from the bottom of the tank forwardly is a pipe 18 which mergesinto or is suitably connected with an upright tube 15 disposed under thecasing 2 and with its vertical center in alinement with the perimeter ofthe drum 10. The upper end of the said tube 15 is preferably contractedas indicated by 16 and is. arranged directly under a tubularprotuberance 1 1 that depends from and communicateswith the interior ofthe casing 2.

Movable vertically in the tube 15, is a float 17 and connected at oneend to the said float and at its opposite end to the drum 10 is a cable13 which is designed to be taken up on and let off of the groovedperimeter of the drum after the manner illustrated in Fig. 2'.

In the practical operation of my improvement as thus far described, itwill be manifest that the float 17 will move downwardly as gasolene istaken from the tank, and that the gravitation of. the said float willmove the hand 6 which in connection with the dial 3 will serve at alltimes to indicate the quantity of gasolene in thetank. It will also bemanifest that the grooved perimeter of the drum 10 will compensate forthe shape of the tank 1 in cross-section; it being obvious that thefloat must move a greater distance to indicate the taking of one gallonof gasolene froni the tank when the gasolene is near the top of thetank, than when the top of the body of gasolene is near the horizontalcenter of the tank, also that as the body'of gasolene in the tank fallsbelow the horizontal center of the tank the movement of the. float toin, dicate one gallon discharged from thetank is proportionatelygreater. It will further be manifest that'as the float 17 descends, thespring 11 will be put under tension and consequently on the subsequentupward movement of the float the spring will tend to turn the'd rum 10so as to take up the cable 13 and at the same time will move the hand6'to enable the said hand in connection with the dial to indicate thestage of the gasolenein the tank.

It will be gathered from the foregoing that by referringto the indicatorthe automobile operator is enabled to ascertain the exact amount ofgasolene in the tank, and is also enabled to see the amount of gasoleneconsumed during the traverse of a certain portion of a road, as well asthe amount of gasolene consumed during a trip, from one point toanother. It will further be noted that by referring to the indicator onleav ing his car in a garage, the owner is enabled when he next takespossession to see whether or no any gasolene has been takenfrom thetank. a

As best shown in Fig. 3, the circular wall of the casing 2 is slotted asindicated by 25 and 27, respectively, and in the casing is arranged amovable body 19. This body 19 is movable about the center of-the arbor5, and may be in the form of a disk, as shown, or in the form of anarcuate plate curved conformably to the circular wall of the casing,without departure from the scope of my invention as claimed. Extendingthrough the slot 27 and threaded into the movable body 19 is a screw 26.This screw 26 is designed to serve as a handle for the convenient movingof the body 19 and also as a means for adjustably fixing said bodyagainst movement with respect to the casing wall. Also carried by thebody 19 is an arm 20 of insulating material and a'lever which isfulcrumed at an intermediate point of its length, as indicated by 23 andis provided with an inner arm 24 and an outer arm 28; the latter armbeing of insulating material and being provided with a tip 22 of metalor other conductive material. The arm 20 carries metallic or othersuitable terminals 21, and one of the said terminals is connected withone pole of a source of electric energy 30', the other pole of which iselectrically-connected with an alarm device 31 which, in turn, iselectrically-connected with the other terminal.

Thealarm device 31 may be a hell, a horn or any other audible signaldesigned to be actuated by the closing of the described electriccircuit. 7

From the foregoing it will be readily understood that with the arm 7properly set, the said arm when the gasolene gets very lowin the tank,will strike the inner arm 24 of the lever and will rock the said leverso as to carry the tip 22 into' contact with the terminals 21, whereuponthe signal will be sounded and the operator apprised of the smallquantity of gasolene in the tank.

When the operator is apprised as stated, he may, if desired, loosen thescrew 26 and move the body 19 so as to carry the lever arm 24: away fromthe arm 7 and thereby break the circuit and stop the sounding of thealarm.

It will further be gathered from the foregoing that when gasolene ispurchased and placed in a tank equipped with my novel indicator,-theindicator will accurately show the quantity of gasolene supplied.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters-Patent, is:

The combination of a gasolene tank diminished in size upwardly anddownwardly from its horizontal median line, an upright tube, a conduitconnecting the lower end of said tube and the lower'portion of saidtank, a dial, a movable pointer arranged to cooperate with the dial, adrum arranged above the tube and connected with the pointer; said drumhaving a. circumferential groove shaped in cross-sectioncorrespondinglyto the shape of the tank in vert1- cal cross-section, a float movable inthe up: right tube, a cable connected with the float and the drum andarranged to beleft off the grooved periphery of the drum proportionatelyto the fall of gasolene in the tank, and means for rotating the drum onupward movement of the float.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

AVEDIS N. KULUDJIAN. Witnesses:

E. J. Dms, J. A. GUs'rAFsoN.

